On July 11, Friendship Park will host a co-ed softball charity tournament at 8 a.m. to raise funds for for Theresa Dayton, who has been diagnosed with a medical condition.
Dayton started teaching kindergarten at South Side Lower Elementary in 1990. She left in 1997, but returned to South Side in 2005.
Several years ago, Dayton was diagnosed with lupus. According to www.lupus.org, lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body including skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body.
Dayton’s condition recently worsened, which caused severe damage to her liver and other organs. As a result, Dayton was required to take a medical leave of absence from South Side in January of this year, and has still not been cleared to return to work.
The tournament will also feature concession stands, a rock climbing wall, a human hamster ball and a dunk-a-teacher booth. Team Dayton T-shirts will also be available for purchase. T-shirts sized adult small – adult extra large are $15 each, and T-shirts sized 2XL and up are $17 each.
The team entry fee is $200. Teams can be made up of up to 10 players, but must have at least four women on the roster.
Tia Schubert, treasurer of the PTO at South Side, is just one of Dayton’s many supporters. Dayton taught two of Schubert’s three sons, and she is confident Dayton will also teach her youngest.
“Her and I have an understanding, she will get better because I need her one more time,” said Schubert.
Schubert is hopeful people will come out and show support for Dayton.
“All I care about is helping someone who had put her heart and soul into teaching 30 5-6 year olds a year for the past 25 plus years,” said Schubert from a post on the group’s Facebook page.
Teams who are still interested in signing up for the tournament may either contact Schubert at 601-916-8885, or Leah Warino through Facebook. All teams must be registered no later than July 2.
All the money raised from the tournament will go towards Dayton’s doctor bills and medical expenses.